AUBURN | SEC speed is a real thing. Mike Bobo recognizes that.

“This league has big, strong and fast people and to add two guys [Demetris Robertson and Tar’Varish Dawson] that have speed in this offense, we have to find a way to get them on the field,” the Auburn offensive coordinator said.

Robertson could be a big X-factor for the Tigers’ offense in 2021 after spending time at both Cal and Georgia. On a wide receivers corp that lacks experience, he brings five years of playing at the collegiate level to varying degrees of success to the roster. The Savannah, Ga., native has 107 career receptions, more than the rest of Auburn’s wide receivers combined.

“Demetris is an explosive athlete,” Bobo said. “I was telling him last night that he’s a lot bigger. He’s close to 190 now. He’s a guy that [when Bobo saw him in high school] had explosive movements, he had short-area quickness and elite speed and I think that is something we need on this football team.”

A learning curve for Robertson still awaits, with Bobo admitting that he won’t be able to walk into practice on Tuesday and be comfortable with the new system that even the veterans of this Auburn team are still learning. The goal is to get him prepared to be a producer on the field once the first Saturday of September rolls around. His new offensive coordinator admits that it might not be just at receiver that Robertson can play a role.

“He was a very good special teams player at Georgia in all facets which shows you a lot about the guy in his willingness to block, to play gunner and to do those things on special teams at the other schools,” Bobo said.

As a freshman for the Golden Bears in 2016, Robertson averaged 20.2 yards on 10 kickoff returns. With Tank Bigsby so vital to Auburn’s success on offense, there’s a chance he’ll play less special teams this year after returning 13 kickoffs last season. While Bobo didn't specially mention him returning kicks, this is where Robertson could possibly slide in.

Kill two birds with one stone, right?

“It’s a good addition for us,” Bobo said of Robertson. “I’m excited Demetris is here now.”